1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device that helps confine a load within a bed of a pickup truck when the bed of the pickup truck is extended by flipping the tailgate of the truck down.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Many loads that are carried by a pickup truck do not fit neatly within the bed of the pickup truck, especially the smaller framed trucks that are popular. Such loads are longer than the length of the pickup truck bed and do not sit within the bed. Therefore, in order to properly carry such a load by the particular pickup truck, one of two methods is generally employed.
The first method is to simply overlay the end of the load on the top of the truck""s tailgate with that portion of the load that will not fit within the bed hanging out past the back of the pickup truck. While this method may work with some loads, it can prove to be problematic with other types of loads especially loads that have a large surface area such as lumber. As the load is angled up through the bed of the pickup truck, winds created when driving the truck can get underneath the load and act on it creating lift and possibly lifting the load out of the pickup truck. While tying the load down may help prevent load loss, the wind forces can still cause the load to sway dramatically making the driver of the pickup truck nervous as well as those around and especially behind the truck.
The other main method of carrying an oversized load by a pickup truck is to flip down the tailgate in order to extend the overall length of the pickup truck so that the length is the combined length of the pickup truck bed and the height, when closed, of the tailgate. This method allows the load to lay flat within the pickup truck bed and helps minimize load loss problems due to wind forces. However, this method can result in the load falling off the back of the pickup truck especially if the truck accelerates hard or is going up a steep incline. Additionally, this method is not feasible when the purpose of flipping the tailgate down is to provide overall cargo capacity to the pickup truck such as when a farmer needs to haul a large quantity of watermelons to the market. The watermelons would simply roll out of the back of the pickup truck bed.
In order to address this problem, gate systems have been proposed that place a physical barrier at the end of the extended pickup truck bed and help compartmentalize the bed. These devices extend the side walls of the pickup truck bed and also form the back wall that was previously formed by the tailgate in its up position. While these prior art devices tend to work well for their intended purpose, they suffer from one or more drawbacks.
Many such devices are simply very complex in design and construction making them expensive to manufacture and relatively difficult to install and use. Other prior art devices are relatively bulky so that when they are installed they rob the pickup truck bed of a large amount of available real estate.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a device that compartmentalizes a pickup truck bed when the tailgate is flipped down for extending the overall length of the pickup truck bed. Such a device must be of relatively simple design and construction so that the device is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install and is relatively easy to use and maintain. The device must be relatively compact in design such that once installed within the pickup truck, minimal cargo capacity is lost within the pickup truck bed.
The tailgate extender of the present invention addresses the aforementioned needs in the art. The tailgate extender compartmentalizes a pickup truck bed when the tailgate is flipped down for extending the overall length of the pickup truck bed. The tailgate extender is of relatively simple design and construction making the device relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install and the device is relatively easy to use and maintain. The tailgate extender is of relatively compact design such that once installed within the pickup truck, minimal cargo capacity is lost within the pickup truck bed.
The tailgate extender of the present invention is comprised of a first extension member having a first panel with a first face and a second face, a first side edge that is hingedly attached to the first side of the bed of a pickup truck and a second side edge and a second panel with a third face and a fourth face, the second panel also having a third side edge hingedly attached to the second side edge of the first panel and a fourth side edge. The tailgate extender also has a second extension member having a third panel with a fifth face and a sixth face, a fifth side edge that is hingedly attached to the second side of the pickup truck bed and a sixth side edge and a fourth panel with a seventh face and an eight face, the fourth panel also having a seventh side edge hingedly attached to the sixth side edge of the third panel and an eight side edge. The first extension member is positioned between a first retracted position such that the first panel is generally flush against the first side of the pickup truck such that the first face of the first panel member faces the first side, and the second panel is generally flush against the first panel such that the second face of the first panel faces the fourth face of the second panel and the first extension member is positionable in a first extended position when the tailgate of the pickup truck is in the lowered position such that the first panel extends outwardly from the bed and is positionable over the tailgate and the first face of the first panel faces the second side of the pickup truck bed and the second panel extends generally toward the second side. The second extension member is positionable between a second retracted position such that the third panel is generally flush against the second side of the pickup truck bed such that the fifth face of the third panel faces the second side of the pickup truck bed, and the fourth panel is generally flush against the third panel such that the sixth side of the third panel faces the eight side of the fourth panel and a second extended position when the tailgate is in the lowered position such that the third panel extends outwardly from the bed and is positionable over the tailgate and the fifth face of the third panel faces the first side of the pickup truck bed and the fourth panel extends generally toward the first side of the pickup truck bed such that the fourth side edge of the second panel and the eight side edge of the fourth panel abut one another and the second panel and the fourth panel are connected to each other. The second panel and the fourth panel are connected to each other by providing a sliding bar on the second panel that is receivable within a catch member located on the fourth panel. The sliding bar is located on the fourth face of the second panel and the catch member is located on the eight face of the fourth panel member. A first pin is attached to the second panel and is receivable within a first opening located on the tailgate and a second pin is attached to the fourth panel and is receivable within a second opening located on the tailgate. Means are provided for holding the first extension member in the first retracted position and for holding the second extension member in the second retracted position.